Passenger numbers surge at Heathrow

The UK’s biggest airport, Heathrow, had its busiest-ever month in July 2011, it was announced today.

Airport operator BAA said Heathrow handled 6.9 million passengers last month - up 2.5% on July 2010.

The statistics included the west London airport’s busiest-ever day – Sunday July 31.

Overall, BAA’s six UK airports handled just over 11 million passengers in July 2011 – an increase of 0.8% on July 2010.

Stansted airport had 7.2% fewer passengers last month compared with July 2010, while Southampton was up 2.4%, Glasgow rose 0.5%, Edinburgh increased 3.3% and Aberdeen had a 8.7% rise.

The six airports saw a 7.2% dip in passengers on domestic routes last month, but North America traffic rose 5.6%.

The number of passengers travelling to and from Brazil increased 80% in July 2011.

BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said: “The growth in passenger traffic at Heathrow in July is good news for UK jobs, tourism and growth. Heathrow’s unique role in linking the UK to the world’s emerging markets is vital to Britain’s economic recovery.”

Gatwick airport in West Sussex, a former BAA-run airport which is now American-owned, said it had handled 3.63 million passengers last month – a 5.9% increase on its July 2010 figure.